They both used the weapon rebound to kick off the ground, beating their wings. They both rose quickly in a double helix, their swords clashed when they met. Explosion-like light and sound effects roared through the air, shaking the world.
Lyfa could not help but watch Kirito’s movements with admiration, both as a kendo champion and a fairy swordswoman. There was not a trace of excess movement, like a beautiful dance of continuous attack and defense.
While in sync with his rhythm, and continuing to swing her sword, Lyfa felt that she was above her experienced limits. Thinking back, in all of the duels she had participated in this world, not once had she felt this kind of satisfaction. Lyfa had lost fights before, but all from weapon extra attacks and spells, she had not lost to pure sword play even once.
The bored fencer was now finally rejoicing at facing the person she loved more than anyone else. She thought that even if their hearts didn’t intersect again, that moment would be enough. Lyfa was unaware that tears were forming in the corners of her eyes.
Like many times during the intense fight when their swords crossed, Lyfa was pushed back, this time she added her wings to it and put a great distance between them through the air. Wings spread, hovering in one place, sword held as high as she could.
This shall be the final blow, Lyfa expressed this feeling to Kirito. He went into motion, his sword held far back behind his body.
For a moment, the silence was like the calm surface of the water.
Tears streamed down Lyfa’s face, fell in droplets, spreading ripples in silence. The two people moved at the same time.
Her flight burned, scorching the air as Lyfa moved. Her katana drew an arc of dazzling light. In front of her, she saw Kirito using the same dash. White light sparkled from his sword as it tore through the sky.
With her katana held above her head - she opened her hands.
The sword which lost its master became an arrow of light and flew high in the sky. Lyfa ignored it and spread her arms, ready to receive Kirito’s sword.
Doing just this, would not satisfy Kirito / Kazuto. However, because her stupid words hurt him, Lyfa / Suguha could think of no other way to apologize.
At least, I would offer this body which was another me to his sword, Lyfa thought.
Arms wide open, eyes half closed, Lyfa waited for that moment.
However - the white light gradually melted into view, Kirito came flying, but his hands too had no sword.
“…!?”
Lyfa opened her eyes in surprise. At the edge of her vision, she saw Kirito’s large sword spinning away, just like her sword. At the same time Lyfa released her sword, Kirito had also thrown away his sword.
Why - she didn’t even have time to think as they met in mid-air. Similarly he was stretching out his arms, they collided face-to-face, and the shock stopped her breath as she cling to him unconsciously.
That did not use up their inertial energy, as the two became one, they spun in the air. Blue sky and the huge tree crossing their vision as they went round and round.
“Why -“
Lyfa managed to say just that. From ultra close-range Kirito stared at her as he spoke at the same time.
“Why -“
Silent, eyes still meeting, the two continued on due to the inertia in the air of ALfheim. After a while, Kirito spread his wings, stopping their spin and controlling their position then opened his mouth.
“I - wanted to apologize to Sugu - But… I couldn’t find the words… I thought at least I would accept your sword…”
Suddenly, Lyfa felt Kirito’s arms holding her got tighter.
“I am sorry… Sugu. After I had finally returned.. I, didn’t truly look at you. I was obsessed with my problems… I couldn’t hear what you said. Sorry…”
Lyfa’s tears overflowed as those words entered her ears.
“I… I am more…”
‘More than that’ didn’t become words. Burying her face in Kirito’s chest, she loudly cried.
It seem to take an eternity for the two to slowly land on the grass. Lyfa sobbed the whole time, Kirito gently patting her head, and a few minutes later, began speaking in a gentle voice.
“I… in truth, still have not come back from that world. I’m not finished yet. My reality can’t start until she opens her eyes… So, for now, I’m still not sure how to work things out with Sugu…”
“…Ok. “
Lyfa gently nodded her head, and whispered.
“I, will be waiting. For the time that onii-chan truly comes back home. …So, I will help. Explain to me, about that person… Why, you came to this world…”
Chapter 8
Part 1
After struggling to collect the two swords that went flying, Kirito and Lyfa landed in front of the two statues that guarded the gate. Recon, who unexpectedly seemed to have been waiting quietly, rushed up. Seeing the black-clad Spriggan beside her, his expression changed and he turned toward her while rubbing his neck.
“Well… h-how did it turn out?”
Lyfa replied while smiling sweetly:
“We’re going to attack the World Tree. You, me, and this guy, just the three of us.”
“I-I see… Hey… What!?”
Lyfa clapped a hand to Recon’s shoulder as his face turned pale and he backed away, saying ‘Let’s work hard’, then turned to look up at the huge stone door. Standing between the two statues Lyfa realized it seemed to radiate chill air, as if forbidding entrance to those who wished it.
They talked about attacking it, but to tell the truth after seeing someone with Kirito’s power getting so terribly beaten by the guardian knights, an increase of only two people would not change the outcome much. She took a quick glance at Kirito beside her - he had a severe expression, his lips closed.
Kirito looked up, seeming to have thought of something.
“Yui, are you there?”
Before his words had finished, light particles in the air began to build-up and the familiar cute little pixie appeared. Hands on her hips, she was pouting in indignation. “Oh, too slow! If papa doesn’t call for me, I can’t come out!”
“My bad, my bad. I was a bit busy.”
With a bitter smile Kirito held out his left hand and the pixie sat on it demurely. Recon craned his neck at a terrible speed to look at the pixie, as if he wanted to devour her.
“Wow, th-this is a private pixie!? This is the first time I’ve seen one!! Oh, incredible, so cute!!”
Hearing this, Yui’s eyes went wide and she backed away.
“Wh, what is this person?!”
“Hey, you’re scaring her.”
Lyfa grabbed Recon’s ear and pulled him away from Yui.
“Don’t mind this fellow.”
“…A, ah.”
Kirito stood confused by the scene in front of him. He blinked his eyes two or three times, then looked at Yui again.
“- Well, did you learn anything from that battle?”
“Yes.”
Yui wore an earnest expression on her pretty face as she nodded.
“Those guardian monsters, while their health and strength wasn’t that high, their spawning pattern was abnormal. The spawning speed increases proportional to the proximity to the inner gate and when you actually get to the gate they would spawn at a rate of twelve per second. That is… It is set at a degree of difficulty that is impossible to capture…”
“Hmm.”
Kirito frowned, and nodded in agreement.
“I didn’t notice because the individual guardians were not all that strong, but if you view them all as one entity they’re an absolutely invincible boss. It’s designed to fan the challenger’s flame, to keep their interest till the last moment then pull the flag completely away. It’s very tricky…”
“But if you think about it, papa’s extraordinary skill proficiency is the same. With that fierce power a momentary breakthrough might be possible.”
“……”
Kirito was silent in though
t for a while, then he lifted his head and stared at Lyfa.
“…I’m sorry. For one more time, can you help me with my selfish request? Though I understand this might be impossible, I would like to find more people or look for another way. But… my gut tells me something unpleasant will happen soon. I’m running out of time…”
Lyfa heard that and for a moment thought of sending a message to the Sylph lord’s mansion in the capital, Sylvain, asking Sakuya if she could send high level players to come to their aid.
But right after Lyfa bit her lip as she gave up on that idea. Her mind went back to that morning, in Jötunheimr. Remembering the incident with the Undine team brought her back to her senses. They gave priority to efficiency and safety, and they hunted the non-resisting evil-god with no consideration for Lyfa’s appeal.
Of course, Sakuya was a friend and wouldn’t think the same way as the Undines. But Sakuya was a leader who assumed serious responsibility. In certain situations she would have to let common-sense decisions concerning the whole race override her personal feelings. Even though she would challenge the World Tree one day, it would only be after taking the time necessary to make full preparations. If Sakuya heard Lyfa’s personal request for aid, she probably wouldn’t come knowing it would mean the total annihilation of her troops.
After a short period of silence Lyfa raised her face with a bright tone and said:
“OK. Let’s do our best. I’ll do anything within my power… also, this guy too.”
“Eh, what…”
Making that sound, Lyfa elbowed Recon, his usual troubled brows were furrowed to their limit. Then saying “Lyfa-chan and I are the same, body and mind”, and other things, then finally nodded in agreement. The stone gate opened with a low rumbling that sounded like it came from the bottom of the abyss and a deep, eerie atmosphere flowed out from the other side of it, which made Lyfa lightly flap her wings. Earlier when she flew in to help Kirito, she didn’t notice the overwhelming atmosphere, but now facing the stone gates, she felt the strong psychological pressure.
However her heart was unusually calm.
Now it felt like she was in a storm. Whether the real world or the virtual world, everything was changing with a flowing and crackling sound. She didn’t know where she was going in this torrent; all she could do was aim for the light in the distance.
Following Kirito, Lyfa and Recon pulled out their swords. Including Yui, all four pairs of eyes met and they all raised their wings together.
“…Here we go!”
At Kirito’s shout they all kicked off the ground, plunging into the dome.
As decided earlier, Kirito began aiming for the gate and was at the center of the dome severely accelerating. Lyfa and Recon kept near the ground and began to chant healing spells.
From the emission of the light in the canopy white giants formed from the viscous liquid dripping down. They rushed at Kirito with a strange, courageous shout. As the guardian knight vanguard and the comparatively small Kirito met, a flash of light and an explosion roared through the dome.
Several giants got cut apart in one slash and scattered in all directions. Seeing such a scenario Recon whispered beside her.
“…Amazing.”
It was certainly a terrifying level of sword strength. However, witnessing the scene of Kirito fighting such massive numbers of monsters sent chills running down her spine.
There were just too many enemies. The huge number of guardian knights descending from the mesh-like canopy was a situation beyond game balance. Even in the worst underworld dungeon, Jötunheimr, the monsters spawning rate was much more moderate than this.
The guardian knights grouped together tightly, sending out undulating bands to attack Kirito. A series of flashes occurred above, and every time the body of a knight scattered light dancing like snow. However, every time one was destroyed three more would take its place.
By the time Kirito was half way to the door, his HP had decreased by only ten percent . Lyfa and Recon released the healing magic they had prepared and placed in a standby state. Kirito’s body was wrapped in a blue light and his health was restored.
- But.
A terrible thing happened at the same time.
A group of low-flying guardian knights turned toward Lyfa and Recon with a queer cry.
“Ua…”
Recon made an anxious sound.
Lyfa felt that behind those mirror masks the guardian knights were focused on them. She subconsciously clamped her teeth together tightly.
In order to avoid being targeted Lyfa and Recon were to use magic only to heal Kirito. Generally, monsters only attack players who enter their detection range. That is, they don’t attack the long-range players if they don’t use bows or attack magic.
However, it seems that the guardian knights are different than the monsters in the outside world, they use algorithms with ill intent as well. If they react to support magic from far away then using an orthodox kind of formation like attackers at the vanguard and healers at the rear is useless.
‘That group of five or six knights, turn away!’ Lyfa’s wish was empty, they started beating their four wings and the knights dove. Each of them held a sword easily taller than Lyfa in their right hand. Their swords seemed to gleam with a hungry light.
Lyfa cried out to Recon:
“I’ll distract them, you continue to heal like this!” Lyfa rose without waiting for an answer. However, although during battles until now Recon had just listened to Lyfa’s orders, this time he said ‘Wait,’ then held onto her right hand. Surprised, Lyfa turned around to look at him and was struck by his unusually serious expression, even though his voice was tense.
“Lyfa-chan… though I don’t completely understand, this is an important battle, right?”
“- Yes. Right now it’s probably not just a game.”
“…Although there’s no way I can match that Spriggan… I’ll do something about the guardians…”
As soon he finished Recon kicked off the ground with the flight controller in his hand. While Lyfa was standing there surprised he flew farther ahead, directly into the group of guardian knights.
“I-Idiot…”
‘- He wasn’t a capable opponent’, Lyfa thought, but she knew she couldn’t catch up with him anymore. Looking to the side, Kirito’s full HP had once again started to decrease. Lyfa was forced to start casting a recovery spell. Even as she quickly cast her spell Lyfa uneasily continued to watch Recon from behind.
Recon unleashed the wide area wind attribute magic that he had prepared during his flight to attack the guardian knights. Many green blades spread out in a fan shape and attacked the knights, ripping into them. The knights HP wasn’t reduced much, but instead all of them targeted Recon.
The white giants issued a distorted howl as they confronted the little green boy. Recon flew around the dangerous giants’ swords, as he moved like a leaf at the mercy of the wind, and came out behind them. The knights quickly turned, following him.
Lyfa completed her spell and the light of a healing spell wrapped around Kirito. Several guardian knights reacted and start to descend. Those knights joined the group chasing Recon, causing it to double in size.
Despite not being good at aerial combat Recon was dodging the swords rushing at him with amazing concentration. He occasionally received an attack and his HP gradually began to decrease, but there were no fatal injuries.
“…Recon…”
Recon’s flight looked desperate and Lyfa could not help but feel kind of touched, but she knew Recon couldn’t last forever. Every time she cast a healing spell on Kirito a new group of knights descended, increasing the number gathered around Recon.
Finally, the guardian knights chasing Recon divided into two teams. They appeared to be trying to sandwich him. One of the many sword tips that fell like rain caught Recon on the back knocking him away.
“Recon, that’s enough! Escape outside!!”
Lyfa couldn’t watch any longer and
cried out. Once a player had evacuated he couldn’t pass through the door again while there was still a battle going on inside. She decided that she would endure to her limit, then fly up while chanting a healing spell.
But before that, Recon turned and looked at her. Recon’s face had a determined smile. Seeing that Lyfa stopped opening her wings.
Recon began to chant a new spell while receiving multiple sword attacks. His body was quickly surrounded by a dark purple light effect.
“…!?”
Noticing that it was a darkness attribute magic spell Lyfa gasped. A complicated magic circle unfolded instantly. Judging from its size it was a considerably high-ranked incantation. Since it’s rare to see darkness magic in Sylph territory Lyfa didn’t know what kind of effect it had.
The magic circle became gigantic in a moment, turning on its axis while wrapping around the knights that flocked toward it. The complex pattern of light condensed in an instant - then everything was hit with a terrible flash.
“Ah…!!”
Lyfa was blinded by the flash and instinctively turned her face away. An explosion that sounded as though it was going to crush heaven and earth occurred, violently shaking the entire dome. It took a full second to recover from that blinding white scene. Lyfa stared desperately toward the blast center while squeezing her hands. She was so surprised that she was lost for words. The guardian knights that had clustered around Recon were annihilated. The only trace of them was the faint purple afterglow hanging in the air.
The power was terrifying. There aren’t any such powerful area attack incantations in either the Wind or Fire attributes. ‘That guy Recon, when did he learn such a useful hidden skill?’ Lyfa was crying both from joy and surprise. If such an attack was used several more times then it would be possible to break through the gate. Lyfa was going to heal Recon for now and moved her hand - but she again froze in place.
In the aftermath of the explosion Recon’s small figure wasn’t there. Instead, a lone Remain Light floated in the air.
Sword Art Online - Volume 4 - Fairy Dance Page 12
